"It was a very, very tough decision," Mayor Fred Schorr said. "We had excellent candidates, but it came down to who we thought would fit best. We are looking forward to working with him."

Licata, 45, will start Aug. 4 pending final approval from the City Commission. He will be paid $85,000 a year to lead the city's 33-member force.

Licata replaces Chief Kim Tierney, who quit in April after a falling-out with Schorr and took a job with the Broward Sheriff's Office.

Fort Lauderdale

Officials identify toddler who drowned

Fort Lauderdale police identified the toddler who drowned in a pool Wednesday night as Jason St. Amour, of Lauderhill.

His mother brought Jason, 2, with her and her boyfriend to visit a friend in the 1500 block of Northwest Third Avenue, said police spokesman Sgt. James Wright. They lost track of Jason, started searching about 8:30 p.m. and found him in the pool.

Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue medics rushed the boy to Broward General Medical Center, where he died.

The Medical Examiner's Office on Thursday ruled the death an accidental drowning, and police are not considering filing charges, Wright said.

Man struck by car during highway crossing

A man trying to cross North Federal Highway at the 2400 block was struck by a southbound Ford Focus on Thursday night, a Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue official said.

The 41-year-old man had stepped off the median to cross the southbound lanes just before 7 p.m. when he was struck, Division Chief Stephen McInerny said. The impact threw the unidentified pedestrian back toward the median, where he was found lying face down.

The driver of the car stopped. The impact smashed the front windshield of the Focus.

McInerny said the victim suffered a broken leg, head trauma, cuts, bruises and possible internal injuries. He was taken to Broward General Medical Center in serious condition.

U.S. District Court Judge K. Michael Moore could have sentenced Alejandro Bernal Madrigal to as many as 27 years in prison for running a ring that smuggled 30 tons of cocaine each month to the United States. But government prosecutors asked the judge to reduce Bernal's sentence because of his cooperation.

Bernal, 45, cut a deal with prosecutors under which he linked Ochoa, a leader of the defunct Medellin cartel, to his BogotM-a smuggling ring.

Ochoa, who served as a senior adviser to Bernal's ring, was convicted of cocaine conspiracy charges in May. His sentencing is set for next month.